Re: A short dry chronicle

Eugene Matusov (ematusov who-is-at UDel.Edu)
Tue, 14 Oct 1997 12:03:46 -0400

Thanks Eva (and Francoise) for your nice research on XMCA! I wonder if
disappearance of many x-siblings (e.g., x-grads) is a good sign of becoming
a more open community where affiliation is defined by participation in all
its forms (i.e., reading, lurking, and writing) rather than by
institutional status or by topic.

It is also interesting to reflect of the phenomena of multiple simultaneous
topics on xmca. Many of us coming from a Western tradition of "one nice
well-defined topic at time" are often confused and want several separate
forums (like x-lit or x-act). But it seems that alive discourse resists
this tradition.=20

What do you think?

Eugene
PS I really recommend people to see Eva's graph at
http://cite.ped.gu.se/Eklanda/Research/xlists.html

At 02:20 PM 10/14/97 +0100, you wrote:
>Hello xmca!
>
>This is a short outline of the becoming, being and revocation of the xlists
>over time. It is probably more enlightening together with its diagram. You
>can see it that way on:
>http://cite.ped.gu.se/Eklanda/Research/xlists.html
>
>Best wishes
>Eva
>
>=A7=A7=A7=A7=A7=A7=A7=A7=A7=A7=A7=A7=A7=A7=A7=A7=A7=A7=A7=A7=A7=A7=A7=A7=A7=
=A7=A7=A7=A7=A7=A7=A7=A7=A7=A7=A7=A7=A7=A7=A7=A7=A7=A7=A7=A7=A7=A7=A7=A7=A7=
=A7=A7=A7=A7=A7=A7=A7=A7=A7=A7=A7=A7=A7=A7=A7=A7=A7=A7=A7=A7=A7=A7=A7
>
>A SHORT DRY CHRONICLE OF THE XLISTS
>
>There are xlist archives reachable by FTP and dating back to
>November-December 1987. However, according to the welcome document that was
>prepared in 1991 and used as an introduction for xlist newcomers untill
>1995, the computer mediated history of the x-cluster of discussions goes
>back to 1984. The institutional grounding of the lists goes even further
>back: to the early 70s, when the Laboratory of Comparative Human Cognition
>was founded as a research unit at the Rockefeller University. In 1978 the
>LCHC moved to the University of California, San Diego, where it still
>exists, and where also the server supporting the xlist communication has
>been located since the start in 1984.
>
>At first there was only a single distribution list, the XLCHC. The origin
>myth provided in the 1991 welcoming document explains the dual significance
>of the "X": it stands as a sign both for the function to keep up a
>communication channel for ex-LCHCers and for the function to allow
>ex-ternal participation by scholars and graduate students from all around
>the world in this "medium for discussion of research on learning and
>development with a general concern for issues of education in modern
>technological societies and a special concern about the ways in which
>educational systems are a source of socially engendered social inequality"
>(Welcome document, xfamily, 91-09-23).
>
>The message flow in the early years was modest in comparison to the xlists
>as I have known them for nearly four years now. For example, the number of
>messages posted in the first set of four quarters was roughly a tenth of
>the number posted in the ninth set of four quarters. Nevertheless, worries
>about owerflowing mailspaces were more frequent back then than they are
>now, which illustrates the technosocial development that has taken place in
>less than ten years.
>
>In 1989 the idea of multiple lists was introduced, addressing concerns
>about how best to stimulate a wider circle of active contributors to the
>electronic discussions. In the following years a number of new xlists were
>instituted. Some of these were active for only a short period, others had a
>fairly stable function as thematic communication channels.
>
>In 1994 the number of lists had proliferated so as to be somewhat
>confusing, and a structural reform was carried out in May 94, merging
>similar lists into one and pruning away inactive ones. The number of lists
>was cut from 10 or 11 down to 5. Then, in the summer of 1995 another
>restructuring merged all the remaining lists (more or less) into one single
>list, the XMCA.
>
>*Lists before May 1994*
>
>XLCHC: general forum. Started in 1984. FTP archives from fall 1987.
>
>XLIT: literacy related topics. Started in fall 1989.
>
>XCLASS: applied educational research. Started in winter 1989.
>
>XACT: activity theory. Archiving starts in spring 1990, but the actual list
>may have started earlier.
>
>XORGAN: organization of the xlists. Started in winter 1990. Intermittently
>active, when needed.
>
>XCOMP: computer related topics. Started in winter 1990 (after some false
>starts the preceding year). Activity fairly low all through.
>
>XHIST: history of psychology. Started in spring 1991. Fairly inactive after
>its first year.
>
>XGRAD: for graduate students. Started in spring 1991. Mostly inactive after
>fall 1993.
>
>XAFTER: after school activities. Started in fall 1991. Mostly inactive
>after fall 1993.
>
>XWORK: work related topics. Archiving starts in winter 1991. The list had a
>predecessor located on a server in Finland and preparing for the Activity
>Theory Conference in Lahti, May 1990, but never got very active.
>
>XWAR: sidechanneling of the aftermath of Gulf War discussions in 1991.
>Temporary.
>
>*Lists May 1994 to May 1995*
>
>XLCHC: general forum. Subsumes XACT and XHISTORY.
>
>XEDU: educational research. Merger of XCLASS, XLIT and XCOMP.
>
>XGRAD: for graduate students. No archives - no activity.
>
>XWORK: work related topics. Never a very active list.
>
>XORGAN: organization of the xlists. Active through the summer of 1995.
>
>XPRACTICE: collaborative production of a chapter in the Handbook of Child
>Development. Started in January 1995, active through the spring and summer
>of 1995.
>
>*From September 1995*
>
>XMCA: general forum. Lots of activity!
>
>
>nununununununununununununununununununununununununununununununununununununun
unu
>Dr Eva Ekeblad
>Goteborg University
>Dept. of Education & Educational Research
>Box 1010 S-431 26 Molndal, SWEDEN
>eva.ekeblad who-is-at ped.gu.se
>http://cite.ped.gu.se/Eklanda/texter/eva.html#English
>-moved my homepage to a safer place...
>Tel: (Int +46 31) 773 22 75 Fax: (Int +46 31) 773 23 91
>nununununununununununununununununununununununununununununununununununununun
unu=11~
>
>
-----------------------------------------------
Eugene Matusov
Willard Hall Educational Bldg., Room 206G=20
Department of Educational Studies
University of Delaware
Newark, DE 19716-2920

Phone: (302) 831-1266
Fax: (302) 831-4445
e-mail: ematusov who-is-at udel.edu
http://www.ematusov.com
------------------------------------------------